Prof. Moschos A. Papadopoulos, DDS, Dr Med Dent
Dr. Moschos A. Papadopoulos currently serves as Professor, Chairman and Program Director at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna, Austria, and at the Universities of Messina, Sicily and of Naples, Italy. He was the founder and served as first President of the Balkan Association of Orthodontic Specialists and President of the Orthodontic Society of Northern Greece.
Dr. Papadopoulos is Honorary Editor of the “Hellenic Orthodontic Review”, was Asst. Editor of the “World Journal of Orthodontics” and is/was Member of the Editorial Board of 20 peer reviewed journals, and Reviewer for 47 journals. He is also active member in more than 23 national and international societies.
Dr. Papadopoulos received several awards and distinctions, such as the “Joseph E. Johnson Clinical Award” and the “Turpin Award for Evidence-Based Research” from the AAO, the “Regional Award of Merit” from the WFO, and the “Special Achievement Award” from the BAOS.
His main clinical and research interests include the subjects of “noncompliance orthodontic treatment”, “temporary anchorage devices in orthodontics”, and “evidence-based orthodontics”.
Dr. Papadopoulos has written the books “Orthodontic treatment for the Class II non- compliant patient”, “Skeletal anchorage in orthodontic treatment of Class II malocclusion”, and “Cleft lip and palate”, has published more than 235 scientific publications, and has presented more than 420 lectures, courses and papers worldwide.
TOPIC: Orthodontic treatment with clear aligners: Possibilities & limitations
Since the establishment of orthodontic specialty, fixed appliances have been the backbone of the biomechanical techniques. However, the unwillingness to wear braces due of their poor esthetic appearance, as well as the new technology advances, especially in 3D imaging and printing, resulted in the development of alternative treatment options, such as the clear aligners.
Treatment with clear aligners is generally indicated for simple to moderate non-skeletal malocclusions and present several advantages, such as ideal aesthetics, ease of use for the patient, and comfort of wear. In addition, the virtual treatment plan can serve as a motivating tool for the patient during consultation.
However, this treatment approach also presents some limitations. Conditions that could be difficult to treat with clear aligners alone include among others, cases requiring teeth extractions, skeletal anterior-posterior discrepancies of more than 2 mm, severely rotated teeth, and teeth with short clinical crowns. Further, the limited control over root movement and the limited intermaxillary correction could be considered as limitations of this approach. Nevertheless, some of these problems may be addressed efficiently if clear aligners are used in combination with temporary anchorage devices, such as the miniscrew implants, to support anchorage during orthodontic tooth movement.
In conclusion, when using clear aligners, achieving similar results to those of the conventional fixed appliances sometimes may be difficult. However, since this approach presents several advantages, it can be efficiently utilized in clinical orthodontics, especially after proper selection of cases and biomechanics.